Thank you for coming to see New York City Children’s Theater’s production of Please Bring Balloons! Use this page to meet the cast and creative team behind the show, read a special message from our playwright and download an activity book for you and the children in your life to enjoy together!

From the Playwright

Since before I can remember, I’ve always loved a good fantastical journey. Alice going down that rabbit hole. Dorothy getting caught up in that Kansas twister. Or Max sailing off to that island of wild things. It’s probably why Lindsay Ward’s gorgeous and whimsical 2013 book, with her masterful cut paper collage illustrations, resonated so strongly with me years ago when I first read it out loud to my kids. Emma’s journey grabbed a hold and wouldn’t let go. It became a family favorite and we all wanted to join Emma again…and again…and again.

It’s an epic adventure told in a tender, warmhearted way, which is just perfect for this age. Who wouldn’t want to be left a note by a carousel polar bear? But more importantly, how brave and hopeful is our guide, Emma, to even follow the instructions and bring the balloon to the polar bear in the first place? It’s a journey to outer space without a rocket, to winter without a jacket, to a polar bear party without cages, and into an imagination without boundaries.

With the book as my North Star, I worked with our show’s amazing director, Sara Morgulis, and her wonderful and thoughtful New York City Children’s Theater colleagues (I will seriously rumpus with them anytime!) to craft this gentle theatrical experience for first-time theater-goers and their families. I figured, if my family wanted to join Emma on the page every night, other families might want to join her ONSTAGE!

I hope you and yours enjoy the show and that it’s just the beginning of new fantastical journeys that you’ll take together. Please bring your imaginations and get ready for Please Bring Balloons!